Published: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 at 6:57 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 at 7:27 p.m.

DELAND — Workers are putting the finishing touches on a new pool at the Chisholm Community Center in preparation for a May 18 opening.

City Manager Michael Pleus said the $330,000 project, which is one of several recent improvements to the center, is progressing on schedule.

The new pool has been built with accessibility in mind. It will have squirt guns, bubblers and other aquatic playthings for the benefit of the community's kids.

"We basically redid the entire pool," said Rick Hall, the city's director of parks and recreation. "It remained basically the same size, still in the L-shape."

The pool will accommodate up to 75 people. The city reduced the maximum depth of the pool to 5 1/2 feet for liability reasons and as a cost-saving measure.

"We've changed one section completely to be a beach entry, or what they call a zero-entry area" where there is a gentle slope from the surface into the pool's deeper areas, Hall noted.

The remainder of the pool will be for open swimming and lap swimming.

Apart from the pool itself, which is being built by a contractor, the city's in-house staff renovated the pool's bathhouse with new fixtures on the inside and new stucco on the outside.

The center, located at 520 S. Clara Ave., primarily serves the city's disadvantaged Spring Hill neighborhood. In past years, the pool was a major meeting spot in the community during the summer, but Hall said attendance has dropped in recent years.

"It used to be that the pool was just jam-packed all the time," said Hall. "In recent years, the facility had gone downhill, so it kind of dissipated."

He hopes the new pool will bring attendance figures back up. Once it opens, the city also plans to introduce new programs at the pool such as water aerobics classes. The city also intends to extend the amount of time the pool is open.

The old pool was only open in June, July and one week in August but Hall hopes to have the facility open, weather permitting, from May through September.

"It's been an important part of the community for so many years," said Nichole Bonds, director of the Chisholm Center, noting many of the nearby residents don't have any other access to pools.

"Our facility is thriving and with the improvements, it just makes it even better," she said. "I think it'll be a real attractive venue for the community."

The pool has been in the works since last year. City officials broke ground on the project in November after wrestling with cost concerns that required redesigning and rebidding the project earlier in the year. Village Pools of Central Florida LLC is constructing the pool.

<p>DELAND &mdash; Workers are putting the finishing touches on a new pool at the Chisholm Community Center in preparation for a May 18 opening. </p><p>City Manager Michael Pleus said the $330,000 project, which is one of several recent improvements to the center, is progressing on schedule. </p><p>The new pool has been built with accessibility in mind. It will have squirt guns, bubblers and other aquatic playthings for the benefit of the community's kids. </p><p>"We basically redid the entire pool," said Rick Hall, the city's director of parks and recreation. "It remained basically the same size, still in the L-shape." </p><p>The pool will accommodate up to 75 people. The city reduced the maximum depth of the pool to 5 1/2 feet for liability reasons and as a cost-saving measure. </p><p>"We've changed one section completely to be a beach entry, or what they call a zero-entry area" where there is a gentle slope from the surface into the pool's deeper areas, Hall noted. </p><p>The remainder of the pool will be for open swimming and lap swimming. </p><p>Apart from the pool itself, which is being built by a contractor, the city's in-house staff renovated the pool's bathhouse with new fixtures on the inside and new stucco on the outside. </p><p>The center, located at 520 S. Clara Ave., primarily serves the city's disadvantaged Spring Hill neighborhood. In past years, the pool was a major meeting spot in the community during the summer, but Hall said attendance has dropped in recent years. </p><p>"It used to be that the pool was just jam-packed all the time," said Hall. "In recent years, the facility had gone downhill, so it kind of dissipated." </p><p>He hopes the new pool will bring attendance figures back up. Once it opens, the city also plans to introduce new programs at the pool such as water aerobics classes. The city also intends to extend the amount of time the pool is open. </p><p>The old pool was only open in June, July and one week in August but Hall hopes to have the facility open, weather permitting, from May through September. </p><p>"It's been an important part of the community for so many years," said Nichole Bonds, director of the Chisholm Center, noting many of the nearby residents don't have any other access to pools. </p><p>"Our facility is thriving and with the improvements, it just makes it even better," she said. "I think it'll be a real attractive venue for the community." </p><p>The pool has been in the works since last year. City officials broke ground on the project in November after wrestling with cost concerns that required redesigning and rebidding the project earlier in the year. Village Pools of Central Florida LLC is constructing the pool.</p>